The Port of Oakland and the SEIU Local 1021 reach tentative contract agreement

The Port of Oakland and the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 have reached a tentative contract agreement, signaling an end to the stalemate that has dragged on for more than a year.

Negotiating teams for the two sides reached a tentative agreement late this week. The contract will go to a vote of SEIU's members on Wednesday.

Members voted down the last contract presented more than a year ago by the SEIU bargaining committee. The workers, mostly janitorial, electrical and more than 200 other support staff at the Oakland International Airport and Oakland harbor, have been without a contract since then.

Port officials and SEIU were supposed to enter into a fact-finding period as a result of the impasse. Instead, a strike earlier in November and the intervention of Mayor Jean Quan helped push them back to the table.